The inside story of Messi's Barcelona debut 15 years ago

While November 16, 2003, was supposed to be the date that inaugurated Porto's new Estadio Do Dragao, an even greater historic moment occurred as Lionel Messi made his debut with the first team of Barcelona.

Frank Rijkaard was the coach of the Catalan side at the time and, with a plethora of injuries to his players, he decided to call upon some of the talented under-19s for this occasion, including the talented Argentine.

"It is a very important date with regard to my career," Messi told Barca TV when asked about the importance of November 16, 2003.

"I was able to fulfil my childhood dream.

"The truth is that it was a very happy day."

Watching a clip of his debut, Messi still remembers it clearly.

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"I was happy, but also very nervous," he stated.

"When I got on, I just enjoyed the moment.

"I remember I had a really good chance against the goalkeeper, but I didn't get hold of it.

"Rijkaard came up to me after the game and said that I missed the chance."

Jaume Marcet, a journalist for Barca TV, spoke about how Messi came to the club's television studio the following day.

"The next day, hours after making his debut, he came to Barca TV to see his first game," said Marcet.

"He was very self-critical and was angry at himself for not having scored.

"Obviously he was glad to have made his debut and was excited to see himself on the screen in the game.

"He asked us to make him a copy of the game for him."

Now, 15 years on, Messi has hundreds of goals to his name and has conquered stadiums around the world, from the Estadio Do Dragao to grounds hosting Champions League finals.